As part of our plans to refocus our business we have been working on a number of website changes including the name of our site. These have now been implemented. This article provides readers with an overview of these website changes and the rationale behind them.
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge. We have included a selection of images to act as visual breaks.
One of the biggest changes is that our photography blog now has a new name and internet address. The new name, ‘Small Sensor Photography by Thomas Stirr’ and its related internet address (https://smallsensorphotography.com), identifies this website as one that focuses on photography done with smaller sensor cameras. Internet traffic that was following our previous website name ‘Thomas Stirr Photography’ through its internet address, will be automatically redirected to our new website.
In terms of our positioning in the plethora of photography blogs on the internet, our new website name will make things clear. All of the photographs that will be featured here in the future will have been captured with smaller sensor cameras. In the case of our photography this will include Micro Four-Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm), 1” (13.2 x 8.8 mm) and 1/2.3” (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor cameras.
With the current full frame camera craze by manufacturers and the photography media, we thought it was important to let people know what to expect when they visit our website. We won’t be writing articles about the latest and greatest full frame cameras. Or doing any formal reviews and comparisons of this type of camera gear. Nor we will be pixel peeping to compare minute differences in image quality between mega-pixel behemoths.
Producing this type of content requires a very specific skill set and a high level of technical knowledge. Other photography blogs such as Mirrorless Comparison do a far better job creating this type of specialized content than we ever could.
Our intent with this photography blog has always been to encourage people to get the most out of the camera gear that they currently own. Along the way we may have also provided readers with some inspiration to grab their camera gear more frequently and create some images.
We plan to be out and about regularly with our smaller sensor camera gear. Experimenting. Creating. Having fun. Sharing our experiences and our images with readers. Celebrating the creative joy that is photography with them.
During the past number of weeks, we did some work with our website that goes beyond just the name change. Some of the older content has been removed… 141 postings to be exact. This includes many old gear reviews, market statistics updates, and many old postings with images captured with full frame camera gear.
Since I have not used a full frame camera for over 4 years, I saw little purpose in retaining those old articles. Especially given our focus on using smaller sensor cameras for the work that we do. Some of my older articles that featured images captured with full frame gear dealt with photography technique. Those postings have been retained.
We know that many people own a range of camera equipment. They frequently use different camera formats depending on subject matter, lighting and other considerations. Often photographers seek out information based on the specific camera gear format that they use. For example, many of our current readers own Nikon 1 camera gear and have a high interest level in articles featuring this system.
Our old website was not set up in a way that made it easy for readers to search for articles that were produced with cameras of a specific sensor size. While the overall appearance of our website looks pretty much the same, we have made an important addition to the content index. This is located on the right-hand side of the website.
You will notice a new section called ‘Articles by Sensor Size’. Below that you will find four search options. One option is 1/2.3” sensor (6.17 x 4.55 mm). This is a common point and shoot camera sensor size. Anther option is 1” Sensor (13.2 x 8.8 mm) which is the sensor size used by Nikon 1 and some bridge cameras. A third option is Micro Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm), the sensor size found in many Olympus and Panasonic cameras. The last option is called Combination of sensors. This is used for articles produced with a mix of different sensor sized cameras.
This new feature allows readers to simply click on the camera sensor size in which they have an interest in order to view all of the related articles.
With our previous website it was very difficult for a reader to find all of the articles that pertained to a particular sensor sized camera. For example our many readers who own Nikon 1 gear would have needed to search through numerous subject headings. Now with one click on the 1″ Sensor (13.2 x 8,8 mm) listing in the content index, they will be able to get an immediate listing of the 383 articles on this website that are specific to Nikon 1 cameras. I imagine this represents the largest repository of Nikon 1 articles located on one website anywhere on the internet.
Concurrent with our switch over to a new website name, our photography blog has been moved to a faster and better connected server. We have also adjusted the image sizing on the new website so readers will not have to scroll to see the entire photograph when it is enlarged. This should help improve the viewing experience for our readers. Our website changes will also make eBook purchase downloads faster and more reliable. You may also notice faster navigation on the website.
As you can imagine running a photography blog that features many hundreds of articles and thousands of images consumes a lot of server resources. Moving a website of the size and complexity of this one, was no easy task. Our long-time webmaster did a terrific job with this challenge. If any of you are contemplating making a webmaster or hosting change and would like the contact information of our webmaster, send me an email and I will be pleased to provide it to you.
To all of the readers that have been following this blog for the past number of years we thank you for your support! We deeply appreciate the time that you spend here. The feedback and comments you provide on specific articles. And, the financial support for our work that comes from your donations, and through your purchases of our eBooks.
From day one our photography blog has been advertising free… and it will remain that way in the future. Other photography sites are becoming increasingly clogged up with advertising and disruptive pop-ups. Some of them are now so overwhelmed with advertising messages, it is difficult to actually find the editorial content on them. In our view these things take away significantly from a positive viewing experience for readers.
Our website will maintain its clean appearance as we continue to forgo advertising revenues, along with all of the clutter and disruption that comes along with it. Relying instead on the patronage of our readers.
We have been blessed with thoughtful, engaged and loyal readers. To ensure that your readership experience here remains professional and respectful, we will continue to monitor all comments posted on the website. We will never allow our readers to be subjected to aggressive and mean-spirited comments from others. Nor will we permit comments of a blatantly commercial nature that try to pass themselves off as legitimate reader comments.
Changing the name of our website will make things clear in terms of the camera gear that we use for our work. It does not change our operating philosophy, or our intent to provide a visually pleasing, safe and welcoming environment for our readers.
Technical Note:
All photographs in this article were captured hand-held using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. All of the photographs displayed in this article were produced from RAW files using my standard post processing approach.
Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. If you like our website please let your friends and associates know about our work. Linking to this site or to specific articles is allowed with proper acknowledgement. Reproducing articles, or any of the images contained in them, on another website or in any social media posting is a Copyright infringement.
My intent is to keep this photography blog advertising free. If you enjoyed this article and/or my website and would like to support my work, you can purchase an eBook, or make a modest $10 donation through PayPal. Both are most appreciated. You can use the Donate button below. Larger donations can be made to tom@tomstirr.com through PayPal.
Article is Copyright 2019. All images are Copyright 2017-2019 Thomas Stirr. All rights reserved. No use, duplication or adaptation of any kind is allowed without written consent. If you see this article reproduced anywhere else it is an unauthorized and illegal use. Posting comments on offending websites and calling out individuals who steal intellectual property is always appreciated!
Hi Thomas,
Here is a voice from the recent past I like what you have done with your branding to emphasize the niche you have chosen.
I still have a 1V1 which primarily gathers dust, but as you have pointed out is capable of capturing a pleasing image. It seems to me that our choices boil down to using tools that we enjoy using.
My own choices surprise me from time to time…..
I will say that I believe age may have something to do with these choices. There seems to be a reinforcement of the joy of producing a piece of art that comes from using vintage tools, at least for me. I am more and more in love with my classic glass. The quality manual lenses are just fun to use. And maybe this goes along in some way with my age.
I hope all is well with you and your family.
Jay Noe
Hiawassee, Ga.
Hi Jay,
I couldn’t agree more with your comment, “our choices boil down to using tools that we enjoy using”. I can also very much relate to your statement, “My own choices surprise me from time to time”. My recent move into M4/3 falls into that category. Thanks for adding to the discussion!
All is well here…
Tom
Hello Tom
As a fresh owner of a Hassy H6D „smaller format“ means FF to me. … Joking only 😉
I congratulate you to your decision. I think you had to do something after Nikon 1 went out of production. As you know, I use Nikon 1 too and it is to stay that way, as far as I can judge it today. I wish you success and hope your site will stay the same in the sense not being a mere ad channel for newest/hype products.
Hi Robert,
As your comment points out… size is relative term! You need not worry about our website becoming “a mere ad channel for newest/hype products”… we will always be an ad free environment.
Tom
Tom,
I think the rebranding is a great idea. Thank you for championing the cause of the small sensor shooter, too! I may have shifted to mirrorless but I i have gone back to APS-C from Nikon full frame and have no intention to go back.
Oggie
http://www.lagalog.com
PS – Incredible images on the post as usual from the the softness of the feather to the pensiveness of the gorilla; of course, the birding images are gorgeous (as always)
Thanks for the supportive comment Oggie… much appreciated!
My wife and I discussed the website re-branding at some length. Given that we’ve been using smaller sensor cameras for many years now, https:smallsensorphotography.com just seemed to make sense for us. Like you, I’ve used full frame camera gear in the past… sold it… and have no interest in using that format again in the future.
We felt that there may be many camera owners out there use smaller sensor cameras who may appreciate having a ‘home base’ of sorts with our photography blog. I have a few new editorial approaches that I will be introducing here in the months to come. The goal will be to provide some creative ways to look at the gear that each of us owns and encourage folks to perhaps experiment with it a bit differently.
Hopefully we will continue to create images of interest to a wide range of photographers, including those who use larger sensor cameras. It is important to remind ourselves that our cameras are just tools that help us bring our creative visions to life. Like most journeys… there is often more than one route to get there!
Tom
The gorilla photo is fabulous!
Thanks Joni… glad you enjoyed it!
Tom
Great to see you still focusing on the small world. Although I am not a fan of micro four-thirds, I found an extraordinary balance with the Nikon 1, thanks to you. I shoot a lot of high megapixel full frame, even digital medium format (Hassy X1D), but always find my way back to the Nikon 1’s, my V3’s and J5. My small set bag ALWAYS has a V3 + 70-300 combo in it, paired with a small full frame fixed lens camera for normal photos (RX1RII) and an RX100 (also a very good 1 inch sensor compact zoom) to occasionally cover in between. The quality of Nikon 1 never disappoints as long as one knows its limitations and some workarounds to those limits. Please keep your Nikon 1’s still in service and in your posts ! Thank you.
Hi Karoly,
We have every intention of keeping our Nikon 1 gear in service for many years to come! As your comment states, “The quality of Nikon 1 never disappoints as long as one knows its limitations and some workarounds to those limitations.” I also have a V3 with a CX 70-300 mm permanently mounted to it. From time to time I’ll go out with that combo, plus the second CX 70-300 mm we own mounted on a V2. I like being able to choose between 10, 15 and 20 fps with full auto-focus. I also find that the V2 provides a bit faster AF-C performance and is more reliable focusing in lower light.
I wasn’t a M4/3 fan based on my brief experience with a GH4 about four years ago. I do love shooting with the E-M1X.
We intend to showcase all three sensor formats (1/2.3″, 1″ M4/3) on a regular basis with our redesigned website. Those plans include periodically photographing the same subject matter with all three formats so readers can make their own decisions about the applicability of each for their own needs.
Tom
Congratulations on the revised website and thank you for your excellent work.
Thanks for the supportive comment Sid!
Tom
Love the “clay cliff” photo. Maybe you could have an area where other photographers could post their own one inch sensor photos?
Hi Ed,
I’m glad you enjoyed the ‘Clay Cliff’ image! It is a unique location in New Zealand that provides lots of photographic opportunities.
There are other websites like DPReview that have reader chat rooms specific to particular cameras that are set-up to handle reader postings of images. It isn’t something that we will be doing here.
Tom